Back to School...in July
I bitch about my primary employer quite a bit, mainly because they tend to treat us like we’re disposable. They milk us dry, promise us all sorts of things they have no intention of delivering, then when we’ve given it our all and have nothing left to give, they’ll “right-size” us right out of a job. Thanks for all the hard work – now get the fuck out.
But there is one thing they offer us poor working serfs that I do appreciate – tuition reimbursement. It’s what’s allowing me to finally go back to college and finish my degree, after all these years. So in return for that kind benefit, I promise not to rag on the company for the rest of this post. Sound good?
Anyway, yeah I’m a college student again, at age 40. I feel like the OMOC – Old Man On Campus – but that’s okay. I’m a 4.0 student so far, so take that, young Gen Y punks. I’m in a program designed for working stiffs – one night a week, 5 weeks per course. Of course, it’s a highly concentrated class schedule – pulling off in 5 weeks what a regular class does in 13 – but it’s okay. Half of the class is online, and most of the discussions, tests, etc. are all done online. We have 21 different courses in the program, ranging from economics to history to business to law. By the time we’re done in the summer of 2007, we’ll have AA Business Administration degrees. Sweet, no?
So today I had to run out and pick up the text book I’ll need for this fall’s classes – Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. Economics has always been right up my alley, for some reason. It comes easy to me. So I’m not too worried. We got an e-mail from the instructor last night discussing the curriculum, and he mentioned writing a research paper. I’m not too worried – I write plenty of regular stuff, and coming up with a 5 page long paper won’t exactly be a sweat for me. This stupid economics book set me back $137.00. See what I said about being grateful for tuition reimbursement? The textbook companies have quite the racket – no school book should cost that much, especially when a lot of CC students are paying for this stuff courtesy of a second job.
I have this summer off from school because I tested out of the classes – English Comp I and II. I went and took the CLEP exam cold; no studying, no prep – and I still managed to pass. So it’s been a long summer without school (I hate to admit it, but I kind of miss it), but I’m ready to get back on the wagon.
Way back when (1984) I was in college in Seattle, with only 5 classes left to finish my AA degree. Summer quarter came along, and I was recruited for a job. I was 19 years old, and they were offering me $11.93 an hour to start. Did I want it? Hell, yeah! So I walked away from college, 5 classes short of finishing. Long story short, I got laid off, never went back to school, and have had to live under the specter of not having a college degree for the last 21 years. Now I’m out to rectify that.
I’ve been able to go pretty far in life for someone who doesn’t have a college degree. But it’s always kind of eaten at me that I never finished what I started. But now here I am – as part of my 24 month escape plan – finishing school. I’m hoping to walk away with a degree with honors (so far, so good), and finally put that “quitter” demon out to pasture.
See you in class.
But there is one thing they offer us poor working serfs that I do appreciate – tuition reimbursement. It’s what’s allowing me to finally go back to college and finish my degree, after all these years. So in return for that kind benefit, I promise not to rag on the company for the rest of this post. Sound good?
Anyway, yeah I’m a college student again, at age 40. I feel like the OMOC – Old Man On Campus – but that’s okay. I’m a 4.0 student so far, so take that, young Gen Y punks. I’m in a program designed for working stiffs – one night a week, 5 weeks per course. Of course, it’s a highly concentrated class schedule – pulling off in 5 weeks what a regular class does in 13 – but it’s okay. Half of the class is online, and most of the discussions, tests, etc. are all done online. We have 21 different courses in the program, ranging from economics to history to business to law. By the time we’re done in the summer of 2007, we’ll have AA Business Administration degrees. Sweet, no?
So today I had to run out and pick up the text book I’ll need for this fall’s classes – Microeconomics and Macroeconomics. Economics has always been right up my alley, for some reason. It comes easy to me. So I’m not too worried. We got an e-mail from the instructor last night discussing the curriculum, and he mentioned writing a research paper. I’m not too worried – I write plenty of regular stuff, and coming up with a 5 page long paper won’t exactly be a sweat for me. This stupid economics book set me back $137.00. See what I said about being grateful for tuition reimbursement? The textbook companies have quite the racket – no school book should cost that much, especially when a lot of CC students are paying for this stuff courtesy of a second job.
I have this summer off from school because I tested out of the classes – English Comp I and II. I went and took the CLEP exam cold; no studying, no prep – and I still managed to pass. So it’s been a long summer without school (I hate to admit it, but I kind of miss it), but I’m ready to get back on the wagon.
Way back when (1984) I was in college in Seattle, with only 5 classes left to finish my AA degree. Summer quarter came along, and I was recruited for a job. I was 19 years old, and they were offering me $11.93 an hour to start. Did I want it? Hell, yeah! So I walked away from college, 5 classes short of finishing. Long story short, I got laid off, never went back to school, and have had to live under the specter of not having a college degree for the last 21 years. Now I’m out to rectify that.
I’ve been able to go pretty far in life for someone who doesn’t have a college degree. But it’s always kind of eaten at me that I never finished what I started. But now here I am – as part of my 24 month escape plan – finishing school. I’m hoping to walk away with a degree with honors (so far, so good), and finally put that “quitter” demon out to pasture.
See you in class.
posted by Tommy G at
1:53 PM
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